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The South Bank Show awards have been making headlines again this week – but presenter Melvyn Bragg thinks the show’s audience also deserves some recognition,

“Our audience have had to chase around after us, and sometimes you’d think they’re a bunch of loyal insomniacs, but still they have stayed with us,” he says,

“And even though we go out on Sunday night, which is the one night that the British make an appointment with bed – it’s nothing to do with sex, it’s all to do with Monday morning – our figures have held up extremely well, and for that we have a lot to be grateful for.”

Having won more than 120 awards itself, the presenter believes that the show’s ongoing popularity is also down to the big names they feature.

“The artists involved have gone beyond vanity, recognition and PR time after time, and have given us a lot of time and a lot of access to make programmes about their work,” he says.

“They’ve been part of it in a way that’s been remarkable and they have given us a lot.”